Before I start this review, let me note that I'm not one who tends to pay attention to acting, so while I don't disagree with criticisms that the acting is mediocre, I didn't notice the apparent bad acting much and, therefore, I wasn't bothered by it. What I instead saw was a compelling story with a couple flaws here and there. If acting and dialogue are deal breakers for you though, you probably won't enjoy this film and may be bothered by the disconnect between the unintentionally funny bits and the straight-faced drama of the film. But again, these aren't elements I tend to care much about, so while I'm not going to pretend this is a good film, it is a good film for me. I, for one, was taken in by the three main characters as their individual stories of faded dreams and the forces both inside and outside their control which tore them down throughout the film were compelling and made for a handful of tragic scenes. Jennifer's final scene stuck out as especially moving, in fact. And this is all topped with the melancholy look of various shots and the haunting soundtrack from Dionne Warwick. The only thing holding my rating back is how certain phases of the individual character arcs felt rushed. Because of that, the breakdown-recovery-breakdown cycle didn't always feel true to the characters. The worst offender for this was Neely's actions after being released from the sanitorium. The execution of her arc after that felt very hodgepodge and some more breathing room would've worked wonders. Fortunately though, the film is mostly well-executed and, while the hammy bits will provide a cap to many people's enjoyment of it, I enjoyed my time with it well enough.
Review of Valley of the Dolls
